


Flight Goggles

by scribblemetimbers



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Wingfic, also a bird, because Sam is an angel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 13:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1745918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblemetimbers/pseuds/scribblemetimbers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Sam Wilson saw wings was the last time he saw Riley flying. More specifically, it was the second after Riley’s left mechanical wing exploded in a shower of sparks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flight Goggles

The first time Sam Wilson saw wings was the last time he saw Riley flying. More specifically, it was the second after Riley’s left mechanical wing exploded in a shower of sparks.

A scream ripped out of Sam as he watched his friend careen in midair before the inevitable freefall started. Halfway through the descent, amidst the flames and smoke, two large shapes burst out of Riley’s back, twisting and spreading until they solidified into a thrashing pair of wings. The blue and black colors were stark against the backdrop of fire.

Sam, for one hysterical moment, thought that those things will save his friend. Spread to their full length and give one powerful sweep and propel his friend up up _up_.

He watched Riley fall.

-

At the hospital, confined to the bed with a broken leg and too many bruises, Sam resurfaced from the haze of painkillers just enough to tell the nurse, “oh, those wings are really cool.”

He was only awake long enough to see the nurse quirk an eyebrow at him. “I think those are the meds talking. Get some sleep, sir.”

As if by immediate command, his body started falling asleep again, and Sam’s last view was of the nurse, bent over his chart at the foot of his bed, her technicolor wings reflected by the light.

\--

Sam knows enough about psychiatric evaluations and paranoid military environments to never breathe a word of what he saw. He just observed, and eventually he learned that the wings come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Some were as small as the palm of his hands, some were as big as a car, and some were so colorful they blinded him and nearly made him trip unto traffic. He also discovered that not all people have them. Very few, in fact, have them. Or, at the very least, he can’t see everyone’s wings.

The barista who always gives him a flirty smile and a happy greeting whenever he buys coffee has adorable little pink wings perched on her shoulderblades.

The janitor in the children’s library has wings splashed with different shades of yellows and oranges, and they would flutter happily whenever he waves goodbye to kids.

A fellow veteran friend of his has wings the color of the desert, spread over his back like a cape.

Sam’s mother, to his delighted astonishment, had wings like those of mother hen.

His 5-year-old nephew has those of a dove.

\--

“ON YOUR LEFT!”

Sam was halfway through his second lap when he hears that phrase. Suddenly, a whirlwind mass of feathers and _light_ barreled past him, leaving a trail of dust on its wake.

Steve Rogers’ wings were fucking huge and - in the biggest cliché turn of the universe - looked like eagle wings on steroids. If Sam’s lungs didn’t feel like they were burning like hell, he would’ve appreciated them more. The wings were big, about three times the length of Sam and painted with a mixture of brown and white. They were spread up and out even when Steve was just casually standing. It should look tacky, or maybe boring, but it’s not. Instead, they looked firm and unyielding. Strong and solid. It was a sight to behold, and Sam wondered what it must have looked like back during the world war, to enemies who might have had this same gift that Sam has, when Captain America blazed through the land with wings that looked like it belonged to an avenging angel.

Of course, the majestic effect was ruined when Steve’s face lit up with delight at having a new friend with an awesome arsenal of corny jokes, because the wings shook and the right wing bent towards the center, as if imitating the way Steve Rogers’ right hand clutch his left boob when he howled with laughter.

\--

The first time Sam saw the Winter Soldier, he didn’t even look at his face. He was too busy staring in horrified fascination at the two misshapen shapes on his back. His wings looked like they used to be magnificent, but now they were mangled beyond repair, a complete opposite of the deadly picture presented by the infamous assassin. They flopped to the ground, limp and unmoving, dragged almost pathetically as the Winter Soldier walked. Holes decorated the appendages, some left bare and some were plastered with an inky black substance Sam _knows_ in his gut shouldn’t be there. Blood dripped from feathers and left a trail of red on the Winter Soldier’s wake.

Sam didn’t think the Winter Soldier looked terrifying.

He looked _dead_.

 

\--

When he opened the door and found Captain America and the Black Widow on his front step, the former’s wings were a whirl of agitation, so it took Sam a while to finally catch a glimpse of two slim wings on Natasha’s back before he ushered them inside. He missed them when he first saw her in DC, he realized, most likely because they were so... discreet, tucked neatly behind her back and practically invisible. When the Black Widow passed him, quiet and subdued, he jerked in surprise when he felt a gentle brush on his shoulder, as if her wings were showing the gratitude Natasha couldn’t show.

Natasha’s wings, Sam discovers, were almost a reflection of herself. They were a mixture of beautiful red hues and solid black. When she's on a job (or on the run), they're sharp and small on her back, as if ready for a burst of speed. When she gets agitated, they start beating and shaking even when the spy is standing still. When she only offers a small smile to Sam’s jokes, he knows she likes them because the wings ruffle cheerfully, as if they were tickled. When she sleeps, the wings are on alert, covering her body in a cocoon and staying very still. They are curled and tucked close to her body when she’s deliberately making herself look small and scared. When she’s fighting, the wings are also a blaze of movement, beautiful and deadly and so very quick.

Sam swears the feathers look like _knives_.

\--

The first time Sam Wilson saw James Buchanan Barnes, the latter was staring up a portrait of his own face in the Smithsonian Exhibit. At least, Sam assumed so because, from where he’s sitting on a nearby bench while playing bodyguard/babysitter to Captain America’s stubborn ass, all he was getting was a view of the man’s back. Steve Rogers was beside him, looking calm and collected, but Sam knew better because for the first time ever, his wings were tightly closed behind his back, clearly agitated and tense.

There were three inches of space between their hands, and Sam would give just about anything to bridge that distance.

After what felt like an eternity, movement happened. Sam’s eyes widened when he saw Barnes’ wings, still emaciated and torn, twitch. The wings shakily rose up, wobbling and trembling but clearly determined to rise. Sam felt a his chest tighten painfully as he watches the wings spread, slowly and deliberately, and then wrap themselves around James Barnes and Steve Rogers, as if to defend –to _protect_ –even if they were riddled with holes and looked so _so exhausted_.

Three inches became zero.

 

 

Sam quietly left the bench.

\--

As Sam Wilson went out the museum, the warm light of the sun and a gentle gust of wind greeted him, and he had to laugh. He felt light and surprisingly hopeful. He wanted to strap on suit and _fly_.

Unknown to him, a pair of strong tapering wings unfurled on his back, powerful and sleek, as if readying for flight.

**Author's Note:**

> So I remember reading something like this in the other fandoms (most notably Sherlock and Supernatural. I forgot the fics tho. I'll put the titles here when I find them!) and I figured if anyone is awesome and cool enough to see shit like this, it's Sam Wilson.


End file.
